Kiss Of The Alpha : A YA Paranormal Romance

Chapter 68: Chapter 68

Heather

I blinked my eyes open. I threw my hand over them as the sun threatened to make my head explode. My body didn’t hurt, except for one spot.

I’d been in here for the past three days, in and out of consciousness. Today I’d been more in than out. I touched the gauze and tape that covered the bite. A shudder ran through me at the memory of that nasty vampire’s teeth ripping through my flesh.

The chair beside my bed creaked.

Brent. A smile spread across my face that warmed my whole body and I peeked through my fingers.

We were in one of the medic rooms on campus. Brent sat scrunched in a chair beside my bed.

"How’re you feeling?"

"Better." My voice sounded particularly scratchy.

"How’s the bite?"

"Still burns."

He grunted. "Vampire bites are nasty."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe all bites are nasty."

Serena came through the door. "You’re up!" She threw herself on the bed next to me. She’d been by a few times but I always seemed to miss them. "Thank God. No one could take Brent being all grumpy anymore."

"I’m nearly better. Right?" I glanced at Brent.

"Right," Brent said. "The vampire venom had time to work its way into your system before we neutralized it. Another half-hour and you’d have been dead. Although if you told me about it—"

I growled. We’d been over this a million times, but from what I could tell, he wasn’t going to let up anytime soon.

He sighed. "You’ll be out of the bed tomorrow."

I touched the bandage again. God. Who knew there were worse things than becoming a werewolf? "I’m so glad I’m not going to turn into a vampire. I don’t think there’s enough product in the world to fix what’s wrong with their faces."

"Gross!" Serena laughed. "Hey, now that you’re out of the woods, let’s move you to your room. I’m sure Dr. Gonzales would okay it."

"That would be awesome." I let out a shaky sigh. "If you give me a sec, I’ll change out of this hospital gown."

They grumbled about it, but left.

I reached into the bottom cabinet where my clothes were last time. Jackpot. I pulled on a pair of jeans, white T-shirt, and some flip-flops.

By the time I was changed, I was sweating, but I did it. Brent was going to have to carry me back to my room. There was no way I’d make it.

The idea wasn’t completely terrible.

I yelled through the door to tell Brent and Serena to come back, but instead Callista walked in and shut the door behind her.

She was wearing skinny jeans and a flirty tank. Her hair was pulled back and her face was make-up free. She didn’t look bad, but she didn’t look like herself either. "I’m not here to fight," she said as she leaned back against the door.

"What do you want?"

"Don’t worry. I don’t want to be friends."

"Good." I crossed my arms and ignored the bit of discomfort.

She smirked. "I just thought I’d say that I’m sorry for the way I acted. I know you probably don’t give a shit, but I’ve spent my whole life trying to get my dad to notice me. I’ve always been a big disappointment. I wasn’t a boy. I wasn’t alpha enough to do him any good. As lame as it sounds, my one shot in life was tied to becoming Brent’s mate. When you came here, things got a little out of hand. I would love to blame what I did on my wolf, but I can’t. I was pissed. My life was falling apart and it was your fault. I did what I thought—and what my father agreed—was best." She looked away and blew out a heavy breath. "I’ve talked a lot to Mr. L and Brent the past few days. I’m probably going to get kicked out of here, and lose my sister if I can’t convince her to go with me, but that’s what I get because of the choices I made. I’m not asking for your forgiveness either." She scoffed. "I wouldn’t forgive me."

I didn’t know what to say. Or if I should say anything. Her talking to Brent—even though I knew it had happened—made me want to hit her, so I stayed silent.

"Anyhow. I just wanted to apologize for being a bitch. Brent’s my best, oldest friend and I want him to be happy. So make him happy." She turned on her heel before I could say anything else.

Well, shit. If anyone had told me that I’d feel sorta bad for Callista Hoel, I would’ve told them they’d lost their mind. But I kinda felt bad for her. It took major cajones for her to come here and apologize. I respected that.

***

That night, under the light of the moon, the senior class sat around a bonfire in the middle of the woods northwest of the school. Much to my annoyance, Brent had carried me the whole way. Even if I couldn’t walk for long on my own yet, it was a little humiliating. As soon as he put me down, he’d wrapped a blanket around me and tucked me close to his side.

Mr. Langdon, Sebastian, and Donovan stood in front of the fire with Callista. She had a backpack on, and a large duffel at her feet.

I had to respect her as she stood there ramrod straight, gaze focused above us, ready to face her fate.

Once everyone was seated, Mr. Langdon stepped forward. "You all know what happened with Callista and her father. But here today, we’re going to ignore her relations. This is a decision her peer pack must make as she plotted against and harmed some of our own. I could make the decision, but all of you would have to live with it. And so you must decide."

He put his hand on Callista’s shoulder. "Callista Hoel stands before you ready to be cast from the pack. Should you decide that as her fate, she will walk away from here with what she has and should she ever appear again—come as an enemy. Or you can decide that she stay on."

Mr. Langdon glanced around the circle. "The vote will be placed, and the majority will rule. May fair hearts and minds rule your decisions."

He paused. A few murmurs filled the night, but were soon quieted.

"If anyone has anything to say to sway the decision, now is your time to speak."

I looked around the fire. No one glanced her way. "Are you going to say anything?" I asked Brent. He sat on the log next to me. His fingers twined with my ungloved ones.

"No, ma cherie. I’m not in your class and I’m not in your peer pack. I’m only here to help you to and from the meeting."

Right.

As the seconds turned into minutes, my heart started to race. I couldn’t sit here and let them do this to her. Not after she apologized to me. As much as I wanted her gone, she’d made a mistake. Lord knew no one in my old schools ever listened to me or gave me any second chances. I couldn’t condemn her to the same fate.

"Help me up," I whispered.

"What are you going to say?"

"Fine. Don’t help me up."

Brent growled as I stood. He kept his hand wrapped around the back of my calf, making sure I stayed upright.

"Hey, everyone. Heather here." I paused as everyone looked my way. "I know I’m new and I really have no idea how this is supposed to go or what I’m supposed to say or...I’ll stop rambling. The thing is, I guess I’m the one here that should want her to go the most. I mean—she tried to take my guy. She nearly had me kidnapped by vampires. Twice. Because of her dad, my guy actually was kidnapped by them. She attacked me. Twice. One of which was a total sucker punch, which was way lame."

Brent’s hand tightened around my calf.

I reached down and ran my fingers through his hair as I looked out among my classmates—my peer pack. "What I’m trying to say is that yeah—she’s done bad stuff, but maybe she’s not a terrible person. People make dumb mistakes all the time. And yes, hers were really seriously stupid, but I think if we give her a second chance, maybe she’ll be better. She knows what she will lose now and how quickly things can go wrong. She’ll have to earn back our trust, and it won’t be easy, but if she’s willing to work for it—then I think we should give her a shot."

My strength waned, and Brent stood, holding me against his side. "All I know is that everyone deserves a second chance. Maybe that’s really human of me. Maybe that’s not how things work here. But I really hope it is. I vote she stays."

I looked over at Mr. Langdon. "I’m tired. Is it okay if I don’t stay for everyone else to vote?"

Donovan smiled. "Take her home, pup."

He smiled down at me. "Ready?"

I nodded, and he swung me up into his arms.

I met Callista’s gaze. "Good luck," I mouthed.

A tear rolled down her face and she wiped it away. "Thank you," she mouthed back.

A tear rolled down her face and she wiped it away. "Thank you," she mouthed back.

Brent lifted me into his arms, and I rested my head on his shoulder. I couldn’t control what anyone else did, but I had to do what felt right for my own conscience. Speaking up for her when no one else would felt right.

Somewhere between the fire and my dorm, I fell fast asleep.